SignalPulse:

WHAT’S INSIDE

Breaking News: US–Taiwan $250B chips deal, ChatGPT targeted ads, Musk v OpenAI $134B Suit, & Apple x Siri upgrades

Open Deals: Cerebras $1B raise, Thinking Machines $50B–$60B talks, ElevenLabs $11B val raise, Replit $400M at $9B, & Lambda $350M pre-IPO Round

Big Raises: Skild AI $1.4B at $14B, Etched $500M at $5B, ClickHouse $400M at $15B, Parloa $350M at $3B, & Harmonic $120M at $1.45B

Exit Watching: OpenAI x Torch, Cloudflare x Human Native, CoinGecko explores $500M sale, & Luminar sells lidar unit + chip arm

The Funding Buzz: Verdict Capital $250–300M Fund, Nico Rosberg $100M Fund, & Social Leverage $85M Seed Fund

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BREAKING NEWS

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

US-Taiwan Chipmaking Deal — The US has brokered a $250B deal with Taiwan to bolster domestic chip production. TSMC will spearhead this initiative, building six semiconductor fabs in Arizona.

ChatGPT Ads — OpenAI announced that targeted advertisements will begin immediately to enhance monetization and increase user engagement.

Musk vs. OpenAI — Elon Musk is pursuing a lawsuit against OpenAI for up to $134B over fraud regarding its nonprofit status. Key evidence includes diary entries from co-founder Greg Brockman.

Apple & Google — Partnering to integrate Google's Gemini technology into Siri and future Apple Intelligence features to enhance Siri's personalization in iOS 26.4.

Grok AI — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to integrate Elon Musk's Grok AI into Pentagon networks this month to enhance military AI capabilities.

Merge Labs — OpenAI invested in Sam Altman's “noninvasive” brain-computer interface startup with the largest share of a $250M seed round at an $850M pmv.

Sweetpea — Leaks suggest the OpenAI gadget may be designed to be worn behind the ear as a phone-free AirPods-like AI voice assistant with a 2nm chip. center.

OPEN DEALS

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

OpenAI and Cerebras — OpenAI has partnered with Cerebras to integrate high-speed AI systems, enhancing real-time inference capabilities. Also: Cerebras is in discussions to raise $1B, at around $22B and aims for an IPO in Q2 2026.

Thinking Machines Lab — Ex OpenAI executive Mira Murati’s AI startup is in talks for funding at ~$50B-$60B valuation. Recently launched Tinker to fine-tune LMs.

ElevenLabs — The UK-based AI voice start-up, founded in 2022, is in talks to raise funding potentially doubling its valuation to $11B. ARR is up to $330M from $100M in 15 months. Used by Fortune 500 cos. Raised $180M Series C at a $3.3B.

Replit Inc. — The SF AI coding startup is close to finalizing a $400M funding round led by Georgian, potentially boosting its valuation to $9B.

Lambda — The U.S. AI cloud infrastructure provider plans to raise ~$350M in a pre-IPO round, with Nvidia as a key partner. Despite a $175M loss last year, it reported $520M+ in revenue showing significant growth.

Breaking News: $EAT hits All-Time High Marketcap and Meals Funded ($14.4M MC & 5000 meals)

Ending Hunger is public!

The first crypto 501c4 nonprofit (WYDE: END HUNGER $EAT) that has aimed to use trade fees to feed those who are hungry has just hit it’s all time high ($14.4M FDV) the same day it reached the milestone of funding 5000 meals.

Coinbase Listing: $EAT

It was launched on the Wyoming Decentralized Exchange and is now tradable on Coinbase.

About WYDE: END HUNGER($EAT)

• Tradable on Coinbase - TRADE

• The first cause coin with an organizational structure behind it (DUNA 501c4 federally approved tax exempt organization).

• The $EAT team is working with some of the most well-respected nonprofits in America

• Every trade funds verified food banks and operators who impact their local community.

• Holding $EAT provides you with governance in the organization (coming soon)

• Fair launched and fully decentralized.

• Meals Funded so far: 5,100 / Next Milestone: 10,000

• Current number of holders: 548

Visit www.wyde.org for more information on Wyoming Decentralized Exchange

IN THE MONEY

Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter

Massive Deals

Skild AI — The robotics AI company secured $1.4B in funding led by SoftBank, Nvidia, and Jeff Bezos, at a $14B valuation to develop an AI model enhancing robot learning via human videos, aimed at enterprise and consumer markets.

Etched — AI chip startup Etched raised $500M led by Stripes at a $5B valuation. With nearly $1B in total funding, it partners with TSMC to develop the Sohu chip, challenging Nvidia.

Replit — The AI coding startup raised $400M at $9B to use "vibe coding" to democratize software creation. 150,000+ paying customers, & projects $1B in revenue by 2026.

ClickHouse — The database provider reached a $15B valuation after securing $400M in funding. Known for processing large datasets for AI, it acquired Langfuse and reported 250%+ ARR growth. Clients include Meta and Tesla.

Parloa — The Berlin-based AI startup raised $350M in a Series D round, tripling its valuation to $3B. Led by General Catalyst, the funds will enhance AI-driven customer service solutions.

Onebrief — Defense tech startup Onebrief, based in the US, raised $200M led by Battery and Sapphire Ventures and acquired Battle Road Digital, a military simulation software firm.

Higgsfield — The AI video generation startup, founded by ex-Snap executive Alex Mashrabov, raised a $130M Series A at a $1.3B valuation. 15M+ users and $200M in ARR.

Deepgram — The voice AI company raised $130M in a Series C at a $1.3B valuation to expand its services, especially in the restaurant sector. It acquired YC-backed OfOne to enhance its quick-service restaurant solutions.

Harmonic — The AI startup raised a $120M Series C at $1.45B valuation. Backed by Nvidia, Harmonic, founded in 2023, specializes in AI models for complex math, with its model Aristotle excelling in competitions.

Large Deals

Proxima — Formerly known as VantAI, this AI-driven drug discovery company raised an $80M seed led by DCVC to focus on proximity-based therapeutics to target undruggable diseases.

Listen Labs — The San Fran-based AI startup raised $69M from Ribbit and others to enhance customer interviews for companies like Microsoft and Sweetgreen. 1M+ interviews using AI.

Hydrosat — The thermal infrared satellite data company raised a $60M Series B to boost its AI analytics services led by Hartree and Truffle Capital.

Accelsius — The Austin-based startup, specializing in two-phase liquid cooling solutions, raised a $65M Series B round led by Johnson Controls, with Legrand participating.

WithCoverage Inc. — The NY-based risk management startup secured a $42M Series B led by Sequoia and Khosla, to focus on tech-enabled specialty insurance for consumer brands.

Depthfirst — The security startup secured a $40M Series A led by Accel. Based on an AI-native platform, it aids in codebase analysis and threat monitoring.

Juvena Therapeutics — The CA-based regenerative biologics company raised a $33.5M Series B to enhance its pipeline of engineered proteins for neuromuscular and age-related diseases. Collaborating with Eli Lilly.

GovDash — The AI-driven government contracting platform raised a $30M Series B to further its engineering. 16x revenue boost from ~200 companies. $5B+ in contracts.

Smaller Deals

Converge Bio — An AI-driven drug discovery startup raised $25M in a Series A round led by Bessemer, with participation from Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz executives.

Project Eleven — The post-quantum security startup for crypto networks raised $20M in a Series A at a $120M valuation, led by Castle Island Ventures.

Flip — The AI-driven customer service platform has raised a $20M Series A round TO focus on transportation, retail, and healthcare, boasting eight-figure ARR on a per-call revenue model.

Trailhead Biosystems — The Ohio-based developer of iPSC-derived human cell products raised an additional $20M, bringing its latest round to $40M, led by MAK Capital.

VelaFi — The stablecoin payment infrastructure startup raised $20M in a Series B round led by XVC and Ikuyo to connect banking systems in the U.S. and Asia for faster cross-border transactions.

Tive — The Boston-based supply chain visibility company secured $20M in funding led by Lightsmith Group. It aids over 1,200 global shippers and retailers in real-time shipment monitoring to reduce delays and losses.

SkyFi — The Texas satellite imaging company raised $12.7M to enhance its capabilities in transforming satellite imagery into actionable insights.

Atomic Insights — The NY-based startup working on payment workflows for RIAs and family offices, raised a $10M seed led by Aquiline to modernize money movement and treasury operations through real-time custodian APIs.

Noise — The prediction market platform for social media trends raised $7.1M in seed funding, led by Paradigm with participation from Figment, Anagram, and others.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

OpenAI — Acquired health records startup Torch for $100M. Torch's tech unifies medical records for AI, and its team will join OpenAI for the ChatGPT Health service.

Playlist and EGYM — Wellness tech firms Playlist and EGYM are merging to form a $7.5B platform, closing in 3-4 months. The deal includes $785M in new equity investments, enhancing their B2B and B2C offerings and expanding EGYM's reach in North America and Asia.

Cloudflare — Acquired Human Native, an AI data marketplace, to compensate creators for content used in AI model training.

CoinGecko — The cryptocurrency data aggregator, CoinGecko, is reportedly exploring a sale valued at $500M.

Luminar — The lidar company, is selling its lidar business to Quantum Computing Inc. for $22M, pending higher offers. The company, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, also plans to sell its semiconductor arm for $110M.

IPO Watch

Open or upcoming IPOs to watch:

Cerebras — Partnered with OpenAI and is in discussions to raise $1B, at around $22B and aims for an IPO in Q2 2026 after regulatory delays.

SpyGlass Pharma — U.S. pharma firm focusing on chronic eye conditions filed for a Nasdaq IPO to fund its system aimed at reducing intraocular pressure during cataract surgery.

Huawei's HiSilicon — Huawei's semiconductor unit, HiSilicon, leads China's AI chip market, while newer public competitors focus on IPOs and quick revenue growth and cost-effectiveness.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

Verdict Capital — Former General Catalyst managing director Niko Bonatsos teams up with Michael Fertik to raise $250-300M for a new VC firm investing in young startups across industries, including AI.

Rosberg Ventures — Former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg has raised $100M for his VC firm, now $200M AUM. It is among the largest tech investment firms led by a former athlete.

Social Leverage — The VC firm raised an $85M fund to back seed-stage startups in technology and financial services. Over 125 investments, including Robinhood and eToro.

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FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals
Investors– request an intro to startups - invest@techbuzz.ai.

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